Amor Vincit Omnia
by J Daisy
Summary: The weather's not the only thing that's changing.


_Disclaimer…As a matter of fact, Harry Potter and all of its affiliates has come into my possession since my last posting._

_Err…will I get banned for that?_

_Ok, I don't own anything. Make love; not lawsuits._

_Author's Note…Err…it appears I have used up all my wit and charm in the disclaimer. Read that if you seek amusement. (Or you could, you know, read the story. A novel idea, I know.)_

"**When you possess light within, you see it externally."**

**-Anaïs Nin**

"To finish off the day's wacky weather, we had an actual _meteor_ _shower_ tonight, followed by the longest recorded thunderstorm in the history of England," announced television's most celebrated--and most handsome--evening weatherman, Nathan Daniels with false cheeriness. "Actually," he added as thunder cracked loudly, "we still seem to be experiencing it."

The weather _had_ been most peculiar that day, Vernon Dursley observed angrily. Since about seven o'clock that night, it had been sunny (even though the sun had set at four, a stunningly early time); pouring rain; snowing; sweltering; and some places had even reported hail. But it was not only the weather that had been acting oddly.

It was the dogs and the cats. They seemed to know something was amiss in the country. The neighborhood stray, the very same one that Petunia had almost kicked a week ago, seemed to be stalking the Dursley house, looking in anxiously every now and then.

Vernon had no doubt the strange behavior was due to something with…the other people of London. _Harry's lot_, Vernon thought with disgust.

Petunia seemed to know it too. She had been pacing the length of the kitchen for four hours now. This strange behavior was made even stranger by the fact that Petunia was always fast asleep by 10:30.

Suddenly, she came to a halt and stared out the window. She did this for half an hour; Vernon was too confused by this to question her.

Finally she broke the silence. "How strange," she said rather absently. "It's been sunny for thirty minutes now."

"What's strange about that," Vernon asked gruffly.

She turned to him with a distant look in her eyes. "Haven't you noticed? It's been dark for so long and now…it has to mean _something_…" She trailed off.

Vernon had a slight idea what she was talking about, but he did not care for his wife to elaborate. Instead, he walked outside (seeing as it was so _nice_ out, an almost-midnight walk seemed like a good idea) and did not fail to notice that the large tree across the street, which had been dead for two years, was in full bloom.

**XXXxxxXXX**

_Harry knew he was being reckless, but he did not care. An odd confidence filled his heart and clouded his head. The invisibility cloak had always made him a little foolhardy, but this was different. _

"_Permissum mihi sursum," he muttered and flicked his wand at the staircase leading up to the girl's dormitories. The sharp right angles of the steps immediately stiffened and Harry hurried up them, the cloak dancing around his feet._

_It alarmed him slightly that he was able to break into Hogwarts. After all, if he could do it, then the Death Eaters, some that were at least thirty years his senior, would have no trouble. _

_But then again, Harry mused, he was sure none of them wanted to get in as much as he did._

_Harry was following the commands of his heart; the Death Eaters would be following the commands of a cold figure they felt no affection for._

_As Harry sneaked up the stairs, he wondered vaguely what Ron and Hermione were doing at the moment. They were back at Grimmauld__Place, alive, safe, and whole after destroying the remaining Horcruxes. Ever since they had shattered Rowena Ravenclaw's cup, the final fragment of Voldemort's soul, they had gotten used to Harry stealing away for a few hours. They didn't like it, as Hermione had anally assured him, but they certainly understood. He needed time to think, to sort out his feelings. _

_He needed time to sort out this._

**XXXxxxXXX**

Meanwhile, at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, Hermione and Ron were nervously pacing the length of the attic, pausing every so often to check on the ever-changing weather.

"We should have gone with him," Hermione fretted.

"We didn't know where he was going," Ron pointed out flatly. "We didn't even know if he was going to do it. In fact," he added with a little more energy, "we don't even know ifhe's--you know--actually fighting him now."

"Then how do you explain this," cried Hermione shrilly, making wild gestures towards the window. She sighed and sat down, putting her head in her hands. "What if he loses," she asked Ron with a shaking voice. "What are we going to do?"

Becoming acutely uncomfortable with the situation, Ron awkwardly placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "He won't lose," he said softly. "He's not going to lose."

Hermione, sensing the tension in the room, looked up at Ron with a tear-streaked face. "You're going to be one of those men that's uncomfortable with intimacy, aren't you," she asked in a half-joking, half-sad tone.

Ron shrugged and sat down next to her. "I'll always have my girly magazines, I guess."

Hermione laughed quietly. Ron, satisfied with this reaction, got up and walked back towards the window. "Hey Hermione," he said, looking back at her.

"Yes?"

"It's sunny."

**XXXxxxXXX**

_It came as a great shock to Harry that nothing had really changed about Hogwarts. The fog was thicker here than in other parts of England but other than that; everything had remained the same. _

_With these thoughts came a great feeling of self-centeredness. Why shouldn't things change without me here, Harry asked himself angrily. Narcissist git, he admonished silently._

_Putting his ego aside, Harry realized that, to be fair, he had never actually seen the girl's dormitories. The staircase had never let him…it needed to be charmed. And if Harry had learned nothing else, it was how to create spells and enchantments of his own, sometimes spur-of-the-moment. Some he taught Ron and Hermione, others he didn't. Really, they didn't need to know them. They wouldn't be the ones facing Voldemort._

_But, Harry remembered sadly, he still didn't know how he himself would manage that particular trial. _

_What he needed was a spell, a love spell, he guessed. As long as Harry used his own reserves, Voldemort would have no defense._

_This realized, Harry decided that tomorrow he could tell Hermione that his midnight break-in was crucial in defeating one of the greatest wizards of all time. After all, this was the place where his love lied. _

**XXXxxxXXX**

At the same time, the students that had formerly belonged to the D.A. at Hogwarts were huddled together in the Room of Requirement, debating what to do about the curious situation of the dementors. For the past year, the dementors had been keeping a close distance from the castle. There seemed to nothing anybody was able to do about it, for if they were angered or offended by anybody, they would attack. So that was the way it stayed; the only problem that was really presented was the heavy fog and lack of any outdoor activities. But the soul-sucking demons still caused enough of an impact for the students to notice that their usual dreary and predictable demeanor was almost…_anxious_ as of late.

"The dementors know something," Neville said thoughtfully, looking out the various windows that, combined, gave a full view of Hogwarts.

"Of course they do," Luna said dreamily. "They have extrasensory perception. That's why they suck up the souls; so they have insight into our minds. They always know what we're feeling."

Dean rolled his eyes, Seamus let forth an obnoxious laugh, but Ginny frowned. "Luna--if the dementors can understand what _we're _feeling…can they possibly understand what _Voldemort's_ feeling?"

Ignoring the gasps and groans that came from the other students at the mention of the name 'Voldemort,' Luna smiled wanly and nodded.

"So if the dementors are uneasy," Ginny continued, "Voldemort must be…?"

Luna shrugged. "I can't translate for them. I mean, it's not like I'm a Transylvanian Blackworm or anything."

"Why Ginny would even suggest such a thing, I'll never know," Lavender sniffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Shut up," Ginny told her, nudging Lavender lightly in the ribs. "You can't deny it; there's definitely something strange about the dementors. We just have to figure out what it is."

"Fat chance of that," Dean snorted.

Ginny ignored him and walked over to one of the windows. She watched a group of dementors huddle together in a circle; their heads bowed to the center; only to flutter off in random directions. Ginny shivered, suddenly feeling much cooler. And it looked so _clear _outside, a stark contrast to the fog that seemed stuck inside the castle, sifting through the corridors and into the dungeons.

"I'm going outside," Ginny announced suddenly. She purposely strode over to the door, and was nearly out of the room when she felt a sudden grip on her left arm. She looked for its source; it was Dean.

"I'm not letting you go out there," he told her with a dangerous look in his eye.

Ginny tugged her arm from him. "You can't stop me."

"I'm not letting you go out there," Dean repeated.

Luna suddenly appeared behind him. "Me either."

Neville stepped out from nowhere and blocked the door. "Sorry Ginny."

Ginny knew she could take Neville, Luna, and Dean. As a matter of fact, she could probably take all of the other people that were joining them. But not by herself; she was completely outnumbered.

Resignedly, she made her way back over to one of the large windows, and leaned up against it. _ But it's clear out_, she mused to herself. _It's finally clear out. It's a good thing._

_Yes, _Ginny decided firmly, _it's definitely a good thing._

**XXXxxxXXX**

_Once Harry had convinced Ginny that it really was him, and not some Death Eater in disguise, getting her to come up to the Astronomy Tower was simple. He hadn't even realized how worried he was that she would reject him. Harry determined that he must wear his heart on his sleeve because as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Ginny had smirked and whispered that she would never reject him._

'_And even so, I would never reject the opportunity to break every single rule and sneak out,' she added airily as they raced up the stairwell. _

_Harry had expected--and hoped for--some much-longed for affection from Ginny upon their reunion of sorts, but when they reached the top of the tower, Ginny took a few steps away from him and tilted her head towards the sky._

'_Isn't it nice,' she asked Harry, smiling wanly, 'knowing that there's something bigger than us out there?'_

'_I didn't know you believed in G/d,' Harry said, watching the moon paint silvery streaks in her hair._

_Ginny didn't look at him. 'That's not what I meant. It's just the sky…it's so big. It's amazing.'_

_Harry nodded, even though Ginny couldn't see it. 'I guess humbling experiences are always good,' he tried._

_Ginny finally turned to him. 'Just think about it, Harry. No matter what we do, no matter where we are, no matter what happens in this war, we'll always have the sky.'_

_Harry sighed. 'It's going to be over soon,' he told her. 'The war. It's ending.'_

_Ginny paled slightly. 'I know.' Then she smiled. 'But you'll win,' she added confidently._

'_How do you know,' Harry challenged._

'_Because,' Ginny drawled, 'You love. And love conquers all.'_

**XXXxxxXXX**

A man with a white face and red eyes looked upwards, squinting at the powerful sun. He was not stupid; he knew what it signaled. But the pleasant weather presented no problem for him…all it meant was that he had to finish his job sooner.

"You shouldn't have been so obvious, Potter," he hissed at his opponent, a young man with messy black hair and startlingly clear green eyes.

Harry gripped his wand in his hand, and could feel it growing warmer. It was itching to fight; but he did not attack.

Harry shrugged insolently. "Well, Voldemort--or should I call you Tom?--if I'm going to go out, I guess I might as well go out with a bang," he said, lying through his teeth, putting up surprisingly strong Occlumency barriers.

Voldemort grinned menacingly and slipped his wand between his fingers. "Any other man would be glad to hear that his weaker, more delusional challenger has accepted his own fate," he began. "But I am not a man. I am a greater being; human trials mean nothing to me." He turned towards Harry. "Including death."

The wand was even warmer now, and Harry desperately wanted to assume a dueling position. But he held fast.

"You see, Potter," Voldemort continued, "I have defied death in ways you cannot imagine. Nobody can defeat me; I am undefeatable. Nobody can kill me," he said with cruel joy. "I am immortal."

The wand was now burning furiously in Harry's hand, begging to battle.

"No one should have survived my curse," Voldemort continued. "But because of your filthy mother…you lived."

_Nice recap_, the Harry thought, now thoroughly annoyed as he tried to disregard the smoke rising from his fist.

"_Quod iam… Ego iuguolo vos._" The man gave him a sinister smile. "_Aeternum vale. _Do you know what that means, Potter?"

When Harry gave no answer, Voldemort narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. "And now…I kill you. Farewell forever." He raised his wand.

This was Harry's cue to fight.The young man whipped out his now blazing wand and moved it around in a full-circle shape. "_Amor vincit omnia_," he cried.

There was a great flash of red light from Harry's wand and another flash of green light from Voldemort's wand. Suddenly, a dazzling array of colors surrounded them both, and Harry saw a fleeting look of panic in Voldemort's scarlet eyes.

The colors were swirling now, faster and faster. They caused Harry's eyes to tear and he was sure that he would be blind.

Assuming that he lived, of course.

Suddenly, the colors came to a dangerous halt and slowly evaporated in the sky, a glorious rainbow for all to see.

And all there was left was the man and the light.


End file.
